ADT, the 150-year-old home security stalwart, just bought Origin Wireless for $170 million in a bet that Wi-Fi signals can revolutionize how security systems detect threats. The acquisition brings AI-powered motion sensing technology that analyzes how radio frequency signals bounce around spaces to detect movement, no cameras or extra sensors required. It's a major play to modernize ADT's aging infrastructure and tackle the industry's persistent false alarm problem that's plagued homeowners for decades.
ADT is making its biggest technology acquisition in years, and it's betting on invisible signals rather than visible cameras. The home security giant announced it's buying Origin Wireless for $170 million, bringing in a startup that's cracked the code on turning ordinary Wi-Fi networks into motion detectors. The deal, announced Monday, marks a significant shift for ADT as it tries to shake off its legacy hardware roots and embrace AI-powered sensing.
Here's how the technology actually works: Origin Wireless developed algorithms that monitor how radio frequency signals from Wi-Fi routers bounce around a room. When someone walks through the space, they disrupt those signal patterns in detectable ways. The AI can distinguish between a person, a pet, or just the breeze from an open window - all without installing motion sensors, cameras, or any additional hardware. It's the kind of ambient intelligence that's been promised for years but rarely delivered at scale.
For ADT, the appeal is obvious. False alarms have been the bane of the security industry since its inception, triggering unnecessary police dispatches and eroding customer trust. According to industry estimates, false alarms account for 90-98% of all security system activations. By adding Origin's Wi-Fi sensing layer, ADT hopes to give its systems contextual awareness - the ability to understand not just that motion occurred, but whether it's actually a threat worth alerting about.
